House price growth slowed in December, says Nationwide

UK annual house price growth slowed to 0.6% in December, down from 1.8% the previous month, according to Nationwide.

The bank’s house price index for December showed the average price of a home in the country stood at £271,068 at the end of the year.

This figure was a 0.4% drop on November’s figure, on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

Reflecting on the year passed, Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said that “despite the softer end to the year”, the market had been “resilient” in 2025.

“Even though consumer sentiment was relatively subdued, with households reluctant to spend and mortgage rates around three times their post pandemic lows, mortgage approvals remained near pre-Covid levels,” he said.

Gardner said stamp duty changes created “volatility” through spring and summer, with activity spiking in March ahead of their introduction, leading to “softness” in the following months. 

“With price growth well below the rate of earnings growth and a steady decline in mortgage rates, affordability constraints eased somewhat, helping to underpin buyer demand,” added Gardner.

Looking ahead, he said he expected market activity to “strengthen a little further” as affordability improves through income growth outpacing house price growth, alongside further interest rate declines.

He said property tax changes in the Budget were “unlikely to have a significant impact on the market” and forecast annual house price growth to be “broadly in the 2% to 4% range next year”